Town Square

San Ramon City Salaries In Today's Paper

Original post made
by jrm, Vista Grande Elementary School,
on Sep 12, 2010

WOW.....Herb Moniz's incredible and controversial salary package is mentioned in 3 different articles in this morning's Contra Costa Times......get ready folks....we are funding his placid retirement with a package worth at least $231,000 per year plus free healthcare for the rest of his life. Finally this is coming to light, the fiduciary malfeasance of the San Ramon Council and it's mayor is a financial tab we will all have to pay. No other City Manager in California has this sweet of a deal according to the research.

Germ (jrm) continues his blind assault on all things government. Herb Moniz is one of the highest paid because he is one of the best. Quality cost money - you get what you pay for. Could you find someone to run the city for less - of course. Would we have the city we do today - absolutely not. Say thank you Germ and stop your childless whining.

Germ, that's what the Times does. They only have about six employees left so they run the same stories in multiple places and over and over again. If you haven't notice this until today you are a bigger joke than them.

Posted by Hal
a resident of another community
on Sep 13, 2010 at 9:33 am

Dear Dolores,

This exchange has been distracted into a discussion of BANG and your readers can fact-check via Web Link.

At issue in this exchange is administrative salaries that exceed the President's salary. AP/Yahoo news has provided various features on this subject, plus Reuters has published in-depth discussions on city salaries versus the demands of the jobs. In the end, local politics have created abusive salary levels that are not warranted for the nature of the jobs according to major news services reporting.

What is more important going forward are the number of cities that face ending their incorporation due to such budgetary abuses. Even neighboring cities are considering merger as one incorporation to better budget needed staff.

This is a good story for further editors' discussion in feature stories.

Stories like this need to be brought to light. This annual retirement payment seems way out of line,Ii don't care how good a job he's done, regardless of how Paul above feels. Teachers are being cut, class sizes increased, special needs programs are being reduced, students no longer get art/music/p.e. classes in some of our schools. Sports teams are being whacked. There is something seriously wrong here...

4 -- what you'd have to pay someone else, similarly capable and experienced, to do the same work (in a 12% unemployment economy).

On these bases, my educated guess is that he'd be handsomely paid at the $170 grand he made in 2000. $350 large is waaay out of whack on any of the criteria set forth above. To say he's "good" without analysis is no answer -- you're supposed to be good, he'd have to change water into wine to merit those numbers. Somebody was asleep at the switch.

Or worse. These numbers are so bad that I hope somebody is at least auditing what the signatory for the Town may have received in return for approving these employment contracts.

Posted by psmacintosh
a resident of Danville
on Sep 13, 2010 at 11:14 am

Once again, this self-posted (by jrm) article (from liberal media) is actually designed as a thinly-veiled political attack on the current campaign of Abram Wilson (R), in his run for CA State Assembly. It's a mud-slinging propaganda piece against Wilson.
It is not brought out of real concern about the "problem" of large governmental salaries/benefits (everywhere and anywhere across the US), but is simply trying to throw some "dirt" on the past background of Wilson by loosely attributing to him the full responsibility for this now-mentioned, but rampant everywhere, governmental problem.
Prior to this (repeated) Abrams attack, I don't remember jrm ever being on the side of or taking the position of criticizing the High Cost of government, the Over Spending involved in liberal programs, the high deficit bankrupting future generations, or the overpaying compensation of many government jobs relative to the amount of responsibility, difficulty, stress, actual hours, productivity level, and education/knowledge level needed to actually do that job.
Besides, how do you know that Wilson didn't actually keep the total cost of SR Govt from becoming MORE than it would have been with another Mayor in place?
This issue is being raised NOW (at his time, by these people) purposefully to TRY to insinuate that Wilson wouldn't be a major and effective cost-cutter in the State Assembly, when in fact he will be light-years better than any non-conservative (liberal spending) alternative politician!

psmacintosh: Although I almost always disagree with JRM's opinions on this blog(i.e. he was more bothered by my old Golden Retriever walking next to me off the leash on a remote trail in our county park than by an illegal alien running a major drug cartel in the park)I have to agree with JRM on this issue. Sure, JRM may have another motive for this blog(attack Wilson), but his premise that the city manager is earning a ridiculous amount of money to run a smaller suburban city is right on. Essentially, the issue should not be a partisian political attack, but rather a unified outrage that in this economy any city manager, much less the city manager of San Ramon, is making this type of money.

Posted by jrm
a resident of Vista Grande Elementary School
on Sep 13, 2010 at 7:10 pmjrm is a registered user.

Cardinal's comments reflect an exposure to the real world of salary construction....my company use the Hay Data (if you are hip to that) and in my view Herb's thing was unique. He had a chance to come back to replace a female manager that had "polarized" the business community and entrenched city staff.....her story is the real one to be told as to how her incumbent went on to be the highest paid manager in all of California when he was hired back. I respect PSMAC for his right to to his opinion....I just think if we don't stop the rip off here, in my valley, it will never be reversed...on a practical note, perhaps PSMAC is a brilliant capitalist and he can pay the generous retirement packages to our county employees happily after his taxes but most of us cannot and find the fact egregious.

Marie: You are correct, Cal Football Coach Jeff Tedford earns more money than President Obama...But then again, Coach Tedford is doing a much better job than Obama...Coach Tedford turned around a horrible Cal football program, and the Cal Football team actually makes money for the school, and ends up subsidizing the rest of the non-profit sports...If performance is the measuring stick for salary, Obama should be working Pro Bono.

While jobs are not being replaced within San Ramon as employees leave, retire or are terminated, the city manager, Herb Moniz, is getting top pay. Is this at the cost of the city staff having to do double duty or city services being curtailed?

Posted by Kim
a resident of San Ramon Valley High School
on Sep 14, 2010 at 11:03 am

Mr. Moniz is earning a great salary for doing what appears to be a great job. While other cities in the area are barely hanging on, ours is thriving under this leadership - including the council. They are doing something right I would say. Do you want to hire one of the failing city managers for less money? Where is the value for us in that? Great costs more. Why is that so hard to understand? jrm started this story to harp on his personal agenda. Don't bite people. He has proven himself to be completely self-serving and politically motivated. Just follow his posts. It's goofy-season and jackasses like him are out in force pushing their narrowly focused personal propaganda.

As set forth repeatedly above, nobody is That Good. There's a market for his kind of services and his pay dramatically exceeds it. We do know one thing -- he's great at self-representation, but the good Town fathers-and-mothers who signed-off have screwed their constituents by agreeing to pay him that much.

Posted by psmacintosh
a resident of Danville
on Sep 14, 2010 at 1:44 pm

cardinal: You STILL haven't heard "a Republican defending the inappropriately high cost of government," since that is not what I said at all.

Make all the assumptions you want, just leave "me" out of them.
What you hear is not my head exploding. (Whatever that's about.)

As for the idea that Republicans like to pay for the "costs of war" and like to spend on maintaining the military, we don't like it. We just see what's really necessary to do in this world and are willling (forced) to pay the price to maintain safety for this nation and our families in bulk.
As for Iraq, I think we should have gotten out of Iraq a long time ago (immediately after capturing Hossein), should have told the Iraq people that they are accountable for their leaders (so do a better job of managing them in the future, or we'll have to come back), and charged them for the cost of our having to come over there in the first place.
They've got oil (so have the ability to pay). Let them pay for the cost of their problem, not the American people--with our money and lives.
If the UN was worth their salt, they would have done this action for us....and the US (and allies) wouldn't have had to do it on our own.
As for Afghanistan, I think we should have fought those terrorists from afar (and especially gotten out of there, once we let Osama slip by). Put a high price on his head. And wait.

Posted by jrm
a resident of Vista Grande Elementary School
on Sep 14, 2010 at 5:18 pmjrm is a registered user.

Pizzmac....this thread is about local abuse and manipulation of esoteric pension laws that Moniz and others have collectively exploited at our expense. If is interesting to me that you claim I have never spoken out before concerning government spending and I seem to have a agenda against Wilson. Actually, I voted for him last time around, I just am incensed over the way San Ramon has attempted to ruin our Danville ambience and quasi rural environment via the Measure W charade. Abram's role in that led me to question my support of him...at that time like most of us I had no idea how San Ramon run by a cabal enriching themselves. When that surfaced I became engaged, as it were. I have come to feel you neo-con tea partiers are not worth any effort to debate intellectually, it is indeed like talking to a piece of furniture. It saddens me that my Republican party has been hijacked by right wing Christian Warriors that mix politics with Jesus.....and along with a lack of tolerance and inclusiveness. I really enjoyed Huckabee's comment last week when he said..."I'm a conservative, but I'm not mad at anybody"....you could take a lesson from that.

JRM: With all due respect, your opinions on almost every issue you have commented on over the last few months is straight out of the Democrats play book, and there is absolutely no way your opinions were ever part of any Republican party platform. "Your Republican party" is not being hijacked by anyone, despite your claim, as your opinions are not now, or ever, part of the Republican party agenda. I respect your right to your opinions, but come on, you can not realistically claim that you are a "Republican" at heart. More specifically, you:
(1) Thought it was great that Athenian School had terrorist Angela Davis be an honored speaker to young 6th grade students;
(2) You have constantly attacked law enforcement;
(3) You argued for legalization of pot;
(4) You were more bothered by my old golden retriever walking next to me on a remote trial in our local county park, than by an illegal alien running a major drug cartel in our local county park;
(5) You have thrashed the Mormon religion and anyone who respects their religious beliefs;
(6) You have attacked Republican David Harmer and supported his liberal Democrat opponent who is a Nancy Pelosi puppet;
(7) You have attacked those who vote based on their religious beliefs;
(8) You have supported Obama's socialized medicine scheme.

I believe the only true Republican opinion I have seen from you is challenging the ridiculous amount of money San Ramon is paying their City Manager...Once again, I enjoy reading your opinions, and sharing opinions is essential in a true democracy, but please do not insult us by claiming that "your Republican party" is being led astray!

Posted by jrm
a resident of Vista Grande Elementary School
on Sep 15, 2010 at 5:59 pmjrm is a registered user.

As Rene Descartes said..."I think, therefore I am"....moderates have no room in the Republican Party of today and you know it. a few comments:
1) Angela Davis...who are you to monitor and control a private school's speaker agenda? That's a lot of unmitigated "Charles deGaulle" as they say on your part
2) "constantly" attacking law enforcement...no way, I have 3 good friends that are cops....they have my respect for their service, I have had one of them come over to my house after midnight after he was first on the scene after a motorcycle fatality and he needed to talk. My beef was the rampant overtime abuse game, not "law enforcement" as you depict
3) My opposition to church and state combined...(paraphrasing here)
We have freedom of religion here, and all beliefs should be respected, no one group should impose their beliefs on all, thankfully our Pilgrims believed the same way I do.
4 Pot laws...give me a break, even George Schultz says this is a no brainer

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